Metamorphosis
by CaitCatastrophe
Summary: While Kakashi Hatake is trying to come to terms with his past and present, Konoha is on the brink of being thrown into the next great shinobi war. The threat of Akatsuki is coming to the surface once again, and the lies are finally coming out. KakaSaku
1. Prolouge

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

You can kill me for starting a new story when I already have one going. KTHNX.

_Like history in the making, can we blur the edges of this past memory?_

It was raining.

Kakashi Hatake, the famous Copy Ninja of Konoha, stood at the memorial stone, his visible charcoal eye dark and impassive as he stared at the stone. His light silver hair was dripping and obscuring his vision while the rain beat down on it, occasionally going in his showing eye. He looked up at the dark clouds overhead, squinting his eye as rain continued to pour into them. The mysterious man let out a deep sigh as he returned his gaze to the stone.

His thoughts began to wander then. He thought of Team 7, or, what had been Team 7.

He thought of Sasuke first.

Sasuke Uchiha had had the potential to be Kakashi's most promising and successful student, as well as one of the best ninjas in Konoha. Until he shot it all to hell with his revenge, that is. His departure as a genin had been surprising, though not totally unexpected. He had apparently managed to kill Orochimaru—he must not have had anything left to learn from the Sannin. Sasuke was now traveling with a freakshow; surviving shinobi who had been victims to the snake-man's twisted experiments. Karin, Suigetsu, and Juugo, all of whom had some sort of interesting deformity that made them useful to the youngest [surviving] Uchiha. The four made up Team Hebi, with Sasuke the leader of course. He was still trying to avenge his clan by killing his brother Itachi, though there had been no recent information as to whether or not he had even done so, or even made contact with him. Either way, Sasuke had become strong and could have been great for the Leaf Village if he hadn't let his damn pride and power lust get in the way.

Then there was Naruto Uzumaki.

The Kyuubi container had been the loud, annoying, blockhead that had made Kakashi's teaching more difficult than it needed to be. He was immature and, even though he had potential to be a great shinobi, he wasn't quite to be able to learn well enough from the Copy Ninja. However, when Naruto returned from his two-and-a-half years with Jiraiya training, he came back not only a stronger shinobi, but even more determined to get Sasuke back. Of course, with every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. So though the fox-boy had become stronger, so had Sasuke. With Naruto's high expectations to get his friend back also came extreme disappoint every time he failed to do so. Kakashi could honestly say he was surprised to see that the boy had continued to try to do so, even though Sasuke had made it clear he wouldn't return to Konoha. Regardless, Naruto kept training, going from a Chunin to a Jonin, and then becoming a Jonin sensei. He became a better ninja everyday, and Kakashi could guess it wouldn't be long until Tsunade gave him the Hogake title.

And last, but not least, was Sakura Haruno.

Sakura had been Team 7's week link--the naive girl who was only there to get a scrap of attention from the village heartthrob. Sure, she had perfect chakra control and some of the best analytical skills for her age that Kakashi had seen, but he had to admit she just couldn't compete with two prodigies. Luckily, after Tsunade became the Hogake she took Sakura under her wing for nearly three years, allowing to put her best assets to use and become a phenomenal medic-nin. While gaining Tsunade's vast medical knowledge, she also gained the woman's fierce spirit, bad temper, and love for the occasional cup of sake. She was still always learning, and Kakashi sometimes found her at the Konoha library, trying to store as much information in her brain as possible. He thought out of the three, Sakura had changed and grown the most.

And he had missed _almost_ all of it.

She had gone from a Genin, to a Chunin, to a Jonin, and then eventually to an ANBU in the seven years he had known her, though it seemed like it had all happened overnight. At one moment, he was watching her as she trailed after Sasuke, while Naruto trailed after her, and the next moment he was being invited to the party congratulating her on her newly-obtained ANBU status. From what he could gather, she had trained herself so hard to prove to Sasuke that she was powerful but, as the years went by, she seemed to give up on him more and more. The ANBU position and working at the hospital now took up a fair amount of her time, which she enjoyed, and Kakashi wasn't surprised; she loved to keep busy.

Sakura certainly wasn't the girl he knew from her Genin days, or even her Chunin days. The ANBU missions had made her hard, cold, and ruthless, while the job at the hospital seemed to remind her she was still human. She had finally found the perfect balance. Kakashi was sad he wasn't the one to help her find it but, as he thought about it, he hadn't been able to give any of his students any kind of balance. Sasuke had left with Orochimaru, Naruto had gone with Jiraiya, and Sakura had gone with Tsunade. What had he done? Since all three of his students had left him, his life appeared to have become mundane.

He had left teaching; he didn't need another disaster like the last, he had decided. Instead, Kakashi filled his time taking on solo missions, or occasionally pairing with Genma or Asuma for a mission. He read Icha Icha, as always, and every Friday would meet with the usual Jonin group at one of the local bars.

It had gotten to be boring and repetitive, and Kakashi needed a change. At this point, he didn't care what, he just needed _something_.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

Said man's thoughts were broken at the sound of his name, and he turned his head to see Sakura standing behind him. Her beryl eyes were dull, and her shoulder-length rose locks were pulled back in a messy bun, a few piece framing her heart-shaped face. He noted her ANBU uniform, which was torn and splattered with blood and mud. She had just gotten back from a mission.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked him up and down, her face becoming clouded with worry.

"You're going to get sick if you stay out here in the cold and rain," she stated simply as he turned around to face her fully.

"Then what are you doing out here, Sakura? It would appear that you have just gotten back from a mission, should you not be at the hospital?" he replied, and her eyes narrowed at the cold tone of his voice.

"No need to be testy, Kaka-sensei, I'm just trying to look out for you. Besides, Tsunade-sama wanted to see both of us in a couple hours. I came to let you know."

"Well thank you Sakura. And will you please drop the 'sensei'? I stopped being your teacher years ago; we're equals." Kakashi supposed that wasn't exactly true, she was an ANBU now.

"I'm sure you could still teach me a few things, but if that's what you wish," she replied, her eyes glinting with secret amusement, "I don't know about you, but I'm cold and wet and hungry. Would you like to come over for lunch--we can head to the Hogake's office together afterwards, Kakashi-_san_."

He looked up at the sky again as he thought over her request. It had been awhile since Kakashi had spent some quality time with Sakura, she was just so busy with her missions and work at the hospital. He supposed he had missed her a bit. It would be good for them to catch up for a couple hours over some tea, maybe. He turned to look back at her, her face having gone from slightly amused to impassive once again. A small voice in the back of his mind asked him how he could have allowed such a bubbly girl to become so hardened, but he ignored at as he smiled at her with an eye crease.

"Of course, Sakura-chan." She smiled at him, but it didn't reach her eyes. Kakashi could see beneath the emotionless facade was a hurt that he didn't think would ever leave her heart.

And the only person he could blame was himself.

For those who didn't do the math, Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto are nineteen and Kakashi's thirty-three.

Read and review please.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Say my name, don't even look around._

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It had happened three years ago, when Sakura was sixteen, and Kakashi had just turned thirty.

She still loved Sasuke, Naruto was still as determined to get his friend back, and Orochimaru had just been killed by the youngest Uchiha. Tsunade had figured that since Sasuke had murdered and killed the snake-man, he would be more willing to return to Konoha. So she sent Team Kakashi on an A-Rank mission to retrieve Sasuke and bring him home, using force if necessary.

There had been retrieval missions before, though the Hogake had tried to prevent allowing any of Sasuke's old teammates to take part in them. Kakashi was often on missions anyway, as where Sai and Tenzou, Sakura had been working at the hospital for awhile, and Naruto had been with Jiraiya for the two and a half years. Of course, once he returned, Tsunade had to do her best to keep him away from the Hogake tower when talk of Sasuke arose. Because if the Kyuubi container was put on the mission squad, Tsunade knew that Sakura, and most likely Kakashi, would demand to be sent as well, and then Sai and Tenzou would soon follow to complete their team. She still tried to keep both him and Sakura busy, sending them on B-Rank missions or asking the pinkette to take extra shifts at the hospital. She always ordered the sent teams to remain silent about their attempts to get back Sasuke, if they even came back, that is. Tsunade had lost a small handful to the Uchiha prodigy.

Once Tsunade heard of Orochimaru's death, she began searching for a formidable team to go and try to retrieve Sasuke. At the time, it had been slim pickings; many Jonin and Chunin were on missions, and the ones that weren't were in the hospital or out for various other reasons. She had already chosen Kakashi and Tenzou, they were both highly-skilled shinobi whom she believed could handle the task at hand, with some help of course. Unfortunately for the Hogake, Naruto had discovered that she was looking for a team, and immediately asked for her permission to be on the mission. Unable to keep his big mouth such, Naruto then told Sakura, and she too asked to be on the team. Tsunade had been short on time and with the constant heckling, she finally gave in and allowed the two Chunin to be on the mission. And since that was nearly all of Team Kakashi, she asked Sai to join in as well.

With Kakashi leading the way, the group had set out with a time limit on their hands. Tsunade had told them, quite forcefully, that she wanted the mission done in a week, but would allow them two weeks, tops. If they weren't back in that time, or she hadn't received word from them, an ANBU team would be sent out to retrieve them. Kakashi could tell that Sakura was nervous, even though she tried to hide it. Not only was the prospect of getting Sasuke back impacting her, it had been awhile since Team Kakashi had all gone on such an important mission together. They were all busy with their own lives.

Naruto was nervous too, but his want to get Sasuke back greatly outweighed his nerves.

As always, everything had started out normal. They had left early, right away heading to Sound at the chance Sasuke was still there for some reason. They had found the area mostly deserted and ruined, save for a small group of ninja who had survived whatever destruction had been bestowed upon them. With Sakura as the only medic-nin of the group, she healed the shinobi to a point in which they were able to give some insight on what had happened. Some couldn't remember. Some didn't even see what had happened, they had just been a victim of it. They did get lucky with a couple though. What Team Kakashi had gathered was that Sasuke had fought Orochimaru, destroyed his main hideout, and, thus, the fight expanded into the rest of Otogakure. The fight had apparently been explosive, both literally and figuratively. As a result, Oto had been reduced to rubble and didn't appear that the survivors were going to begin rebuilding anytime soon.

The Konoha ninja, of course, didn't really give a damn about whether or not Sound was rebuilt.

Inevitably, Naruto had gotten frustrated with the excess information given by the shinobi, and demanded if they had seen where the winner of the fight had gone. All who remembered the fight had pointed South, specifically the Village Hidden in the Rain; Amegakure. The fight had been merely days before, it seemed, so Sasuke and his "team" couldn't have been too far away. After stopping for rest, Team Kakashi set out once again, doubling their pace in hopes of catching up with their target.

They had gotten lucky.

After stopping for the night in one of the smaller villages, Team Kakashi continued on their path, now with regained strength and determination. They had then discovered a recently-resting Team Hebi on their way to Amegakure. The redhead that Kakahi believed was Karin, she was the only girl, didn't look surprised, and he later found out she had a very admirable chakra-sensing ability, and had already been expecting them. The one with the sharp teeth, Suigetsu Hozuki, had been lounging around with the on with orange hair, Juugo. Naruto and Sakura had seethed at seeing Suigetsu leaning back against the large decapitating blade that Zabuza Momochi had once used; he had later stated that he had taken the sword from the man's grave.

Sasuke had looked bored, his obsidian eyes betrayed nothing of how he felt about the whole situation. His gaze had flickered over the group of Konoha ninja, and his eyes narrowed at seeing Sai for the first time. He had figured out that the former ROOT member was his replacement, and then he attacked.

Everything had happened so quickly, if Kakashi was not such a seasoned shinobi he wouldn't have been able to move before Sasuke's katana pierced his stomach. He'd been able to take a fleeting glance at Sakura and Naruto as he had dodged, and had expected their looks of surprise and, in Naruto's case, anger. Tenzou and Sai had immediately sprang into action, and the fox-boy followed soon after. The three went to battle Suigetsu, Karin, and Juugo, and things quickly escalated from there.

Sakura was the only one who hadn't done anything. She looked frozen, her face one of shock and hurt, but her hands twitched as if she wanted to do something. Kakashi supposed she was internally beating herself up for being weak in front of Sasuke, again. The Copy Ninja remembered shouting her name harshly, telling her to move and do something or else she would be killed. She had moved then, just in time too, after Sasuke sent a kunai her way. The wild look in her eyes had then been replaced by something else, something Kakashi had seen in their emerald depths before.

_Longing._

He could tell she wanted Sasuke back more than anything, Sakura had never been good at hiding her feelings from him, or anyone for that matter. She hadn't seen him in so long, it must have made it that much harder for her. Kakashi had only been able to pray that she wouldn't do anything to sacrifice the outcome of the mission. He wanted the Uchiha back too, but they were under strict orders from the Hogake to retrieve him by any means necessary. He had secretly wished that she hadn't come on the journey with the rest of the team, he'd almost been positive that she would let her feelings get in the way. Naturally, it was just their luck that Sakura had acted without thinking.

"Sasuke-kun!" she had cried, tears already beginning to gather in her vibrant eyes, "You don't have to do this! Please, come home; I love you! Come back to Konoha, it's your home!"

He had looked at her then, his midnight eyes boring into her own green ones. Sasuke's face had twisted into one of annoyance at her pleading voice before he spoke.

"Tch, why are you so annoying?" He had then begun walking towards Sakura, his gait slow and relaxed, even as Naruto, Tenzou, and Sai continued to fight the rest of Hebi's team. Kakashi noticed Sakura had been shaking slightly, her eyes still wide with longing, and.. fear? Looking back, he wasn't shocked to see that she was afraid of Sasuke. He had changed.

It was something that the Jonin noticed upon seeing Sasuke. His entire aura was different, his chakra seemed darker. Even as a Genin he had had a minuscule amount of warmth in his eyes, now they had been frozen with the lust for revenge and power. Kakashi had known that a fight was inevitable with the Uchiha, and he was curious to see what exactly Orochimaru had taught his pupil, and just how strong he had become.

"Sasuke-kun, please," Sakura begged, tears had finally begun streaming freely down her pale face at that point, and something in Kakashi's heart had broken seeing her like that. "We can help you, Konoha can help you! We'll help you avenge Itachi, you don't have to stay away!" Sasuke's face had then changed from one of annoyance to one of anger at his brother's name. It seemed that no matter how many years went by, his hate for Itachi would never leave him.

"Konoha can not help me, and neither can you, Sakura," he had replied, his voice cold and void of emotion, "I'm surprised you haven't changed any, I thought you would have given up already." With that, he had then hurled a flurry of shuriken her way, making her dodge his attack again.

Sakura's pink had started to stick to her forehead and face, due to the tears on her cheeks and the sweat from the earlier pursuit. The salt from her tears had made her eyes become red-rimmed, thus making her already bright eyes stand out more. Her pale skin had had a slight flush to it, and her face had been one of pure anguish in pain.

If Kakashi was an artist, he would have said Sakura had possessed a real beauty at that point, with such a look on her face. But he wasn't an artist and that hadn't been a proper situation to ponder over Sakura's looks and when Sasuke made an advance on his only female student that seemed pretty deadly, he had realized he needed to get his ass in gear _right that minute_.

He had been lucky just then, he had moved right when Sasuke had lunged at Sakura with his katana. There had then been a clang, a flurry of sparks, and a grunt as Kakashi hit Sasuke's blade with his kunai, effectively stopping him from killing his old teammate.

The Uchiha's eyes narrowed, and he flipped backwards, landing a few feet away from the two. Kakashi had quickly slung the pinkette over his shoulder and moved the two of the to a safer place-under a large tree-and then they had watched Sasuke warily. His open white shirt had blown in the wind, exposing the smooth planes of his upper chest and abdominal muscles. His eyes then slowly flickered over his teammates to see how they were fairing before returning his gaze to Kakashi and Sakura.

"Why protect her Kakashi-sensei?" he spoke the honorific like it was a dirty word, "Hasn't she always been a hindrance to you? _Weak_."

"Those who abandon their teammates are worse than trash, Sasuke," the Copy-nin replied, sending a fierce glare the prodigy's way.

Said teenager had then, because of his anger, had managed a small slip-up in a battle with Kakashi, leading to him sporting a nasty shoulder injury that made him no longer able to fight properly. At that point, Karin, Juugo, and Suigetsu had all started to wear down from their battles with Naruto, Tenzou, or Sai, and Team Hebi finally decided to retreat. The rest of Team Kakashi, mostly Naruto, once again tried to persuade Sasuke to return to Konoha, but of course it hadn't worked.

Hebi had then fled, and Team Kakashi was left to tend to their injuries and then return back to Konoha with a burden: their mission's failure. Naruto had been angry, Sai and Tenzou had been mostly indifferent about it, though slightly irked about the failure, and Sakura had still not recovered from Sasuke's harsh words and actions. She hadn't been injured, not physically anyway, but had been having a rough time trying to pull it together so she could heal her teammates that were injured. Kakashi had had to nearly yell at her to get her to do her job or he'd be forced to put her incompetence in the mission report. They'd returned home with a sniffling Sakura, bitter Naruto, and broken spirits. That mission had been Team Kakashi's undoing; they ended up all going their separate ways. Tenzou and Sai returned to ANBU, Naruto began training to become a Jonin, Kakashi went to take on solo missions, and Sakura went back to the hospital. Sakura had changed after that mission, and almost seemed to be in shock at the events that had occurred. Kakashi almost felt sorry for the young kunoichi, but he was too wrapped up in his own life to pay mind to her suffering.

Looking at her now, he knew if he could go back and give her the support she needed, he would have. She had never fully gotten over the incident, and her way of coping with the pain was working herself well past her limits. Sakura gave her all at the hospital, and pushed herself to become a formidable Jonin, and then an even better ANBU. She spent whatever free time she had in the library, slowly but surely reading all of the medical textbooks the Konoha library offered. She trained with Shikamaru to improve her already stellar analytical and quick-thinking skills. She trained with Lee to better her taijustu, Tenten to master her weaponry and she even asked Kurenai for advice on genjustu.

Not once did she come to him for help.

Kakashi figured that she blamed him for her pain, because he didn't fight her allowance to go on the mission. Or maybe she was reminded of that day every time she looked at him, because he was the team leader. Whatever the reason, Sakura held some sort of anger in her now-closed off heart for Kakashi, and he could tell no matter how hard she tried to hide it. Granted, he didn't often see her, but when he did, he could see the hurt in her emerald eyes. ANBU had taught her to close off her emotions from others, though she'd never been very good at that-especially with her hospital work-but someone as seasoned as himself could tell that she was still sorrow-filled.

The son of the White Fang thought about Sakura and the past three years more than he probably should have. How she'd changed over the years was nothing short of phenomenal, thought Kakashi wasn't sure the change had been for the best. Before the mission, she had been so joyful, so young and free and happy with her life. Sure, she still possessed the puppy-love for Sasuke she'd had since he'd taught her as a Genin, but it was still enjoyable being in her presence. Her entire demeanor afterward was the complete opposite, something he'd never thought he'd see in the girl.

As he looked over to the ANBU walking beside him, he realized that he blamed himself for it all. For the mission's failure, for Naruto's disappointment and crushed spirit, for Sakura's extreme change and cold attitude. For being an awful sensei and not being able to restore Team Seven like he'd promised.

For not being there for them when they needed him most.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Sakura and Kakashi stood in Tsunade's office, patiently waiting while the Hogake finished the small stack of papers resting on her oak desk. The amber-eyed woman rested her weary head on a fist while she lazily leafed through the papers, hastily scrawling her signature where it was indicated to do so. Though the woman loved having her job as Hogake, the paperwork-the loads and loads of paperwork-was threatening to make the tension-filled vein in her forehead pop after so many years of the tiresome occupation.

"Shishou, what is it you need both of us for? I was hoping to begin writing the mission report," Sakura's soft, though emotionless, voice broke the heavy silence of the cramped room.

Tsunade let out a sigh of frustration at her apprentice's impatience, willing herself not to snap at the young woman. She slowly looked up at the pair, and fixed them with her caramel eyes before speaking bluntly.

"I am sending the two of you on a month-long infiltration mission. _Together_."

"Now, surely there's someone else-"

"Sakura," the Godaime fixed the ANBU with a cold stare, immediately silencing her, "I will not tolerate you interrupting me. I'm not going to tell you twice. Now, I am in-fact sending you two on this mission. You're two of my best shinobi who are in the village at the moment and this infiltration could easily become S-Rank if circumstances make it so. After hearing from some of my numerous sources about a situation in Earth, I contacted the Tsuchikage about a potential mission. Iwa has been recently been experiencing tension from Amegakure, and it appears as though the smaller village is posing a threat to Stone."

"But why isn't Iwa able to handle something like this on their own?" Sakura questioned, her emerald eyes flashing as she thought over her mentor's words, "They're a strong village, Rain is rather small, why do they need us?"

Kakashi vaguely wondered if the ANBU missions and work at the hospital kept his ex-student so busy that she wasn't even up to date on the status of their allies. "Iwa's grown weaker over the years, Sakura, you know that. The Tsuchikage's getting very old, and it doesn't seem as though he holds the same authority as before. They're still fairly strong, but not nearly strong enough to beat the impenetrable forces of Ame."

Tsunade nodded, "Exactly Kakashi. Now, back to the mission. Onoki speculates that the Akatsuki are using Rain as a base once again, because the village is so isolated, and he's asking that the two of you infiltrate the village and discover the truth. He told me he has no doubt that the organization is no longer dormant, since they have been the past few years. They have all but two of the Jinchuriki, and they're more than likely reemerged to extract the beasts from Naruto and Killer Bee. After communicating with Onoki, him and I believe that Akatsuki have used the years to formulate a better and more effective plan, and your jobs are to find out what it is."

"Shishou, in all respect, how do you expect us to do this effectively? Kakashi has been in the Bingo Book for years, and he's recognized nearly everywhere. And it's not like my appearance is ordinary either; shinobi recognize me just as easily" Sakura protested, placing two small hands on her hips.

"And why are we trusting Iwa anyway?" Kakashi broke in, "If I remember clearly, the Tsuchikage has hired Akatsuki in the past; why would _he_ hope to eliminate them?"

"We're trusting Iwa because, weeks ago, there was a meeting between Konohagakura, Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Kirigakure, and talk of an alliance has been accumulating," the blond woman ignored the slightly surprised faces of the two ninja as she continued, "We are already on good terms with Suna, as you know, and though Kiri has always been neutral, the Mizukage has always highly regarded Leaf, and she was delighted to suggest an alliance with us. Sending the two of you over to Iwa would also help to strengthen such a companionship, and along with the mission it would be killing two birds with one stone, ne?"

Kakashi ran over the severity of the situation in his mind. Sending two Leaf shinobi to Rain most likely would appear to encourage either a strong friendship or a strong mistrust, but it would all come down to whether or not Akatsuki was in Ame, working behind the scenes. Iwa's could very well be the ones housing the organization, given their past affiliation with them, and could only be using Rain to divert attention to themselves. Kakashi realized that Tsunade sending two of her strongest shinobi was _very_ risky in a situation like this, because of Iwa's questioned loyalties and Ame's unknown everything.

The Copy Nin's thoughts were broken as he realized the Godaime was speaking again, and he quickly moved his attention to her once again.

"Sakura, in terms of you two being recognized, Onoki and I have already created a plan we hope will lead to success. You two will be under the guise of ambassadors for Konoha when you get to Ame, proposing an alliance with the village. As you two should know, Rain adopted an extremely isolationist policy, so the security there is very heavy and you should expect to be questioned and searched. Your bags have already been packed, and they are filled with clothes and weapons that will give no indication to our relationship with Iwa. Kakashi, there is a scroll in your pack with a letter written by me, with the Hogake seal. You must show complete trust of Ame, and you must let no other information other than the 'alliance' leak. You should meet up at the gates tomorrow morning at seven, and Kotetsu and Izumo will deliver your clothes for departure tonight, as well as your bags. Head straight to Rain, and I expect you to arrive in a week's time, at the latest. Sakura, I want your mission report on my desk before you leave. Any questions? No? Then get the hell out of my office."

She tossed a scroll to Kakashi, which he caught with ease but knew he wouldn't look at. It would only go over everything she just spent the time telling them. The jounin promptly turned on his heel after catching the scroll, pulling out a worn copy of Icha Icha as he did so, and exited the office without another word to Sakura. His obsidian eye lazily roamed the page as he made his way out of the building and headed back to his apartment. He suspected the pink-haired kunoichi would drop by his house later, most likely to go over the mission scroll and formulate a plan while glaring daggers at him.

He inwardly groaned. A month-long, high-risk mission with Sakura Haruno? To a place that held memories _neither_ of them wanted to relive?

It was going to be a long month.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Sakura ended up not stopping by Kakashi's house that night, but he wasn't surprised, he realized. She probably wanted as little contact as possible with him during this mission, and she must have discovered that that'd be a difficult thing to accomplish, given their purpose for going.

They met up at the gates at seven sharp-Kakashi had been careful not to be late-dressed in the ANBU gear the Hogake had provided them. He was glad the tattoo on his left shoulder hadn't faded any, and Tsunade had been courteous enough to give him a porcelain mask that was a different animal from the one he wore when he was previously apart of the squad. He didn't need any enemy shinobi they ran into to have yet another way of recognizing him. In his haste to get ready on time, Kakashi had fumbled to securely strap the katana to his back and it now dug into his spine in an uncomfortable way, but he doubted Sakura would be kind enough to fix it for him so it was worn properly. She'd been in, for lack of a better word, a pissy mood all morning and he didn't want to agitate her further if he didn't have to.

Sakura hadn't wanted to procrastinate any, and they'd left almost as soon as they got there. They were traveling at a quick, but steady pace, and had been for the past three hours. Very few words had been exchanged between them, and it was making the Sharingan-user have unnecessary anxiety.

"We need to formulate a plan for this mission, Sakura," he spoke firmly as he glanced at her next to him for only the second time that day.

Sakura had a beauty that was _completely_ unrivaled, the silver-haired man realized. Anyone without her clear, pale skin and beryl eyes would look utterly ridiculous with her strawberry locks. The medic had grown into her large forehead, and he was sure that just from her face alone she had plenty of male admirers. Her body was toned and strong from years and years of intense training, though he didn't think it was to the point of looking disgusting. She was muscular, but still had the hourglass figure that drove men wild. She jumped from tree to tree with a strength and grace only she possessed, and he was momentarily captivated by her fluid movement, so much so that he nearly fell when the gap between branches was larger than expected.

"What is there to talk about? Shishou told us everything yesterday, we know our plan," she replied coolly, keeping her gaze fixed on the trees ahead of her. She had pulled her rose-colored hair into a practical ponytail, though a few stubborn pieces had fallen out and whipped across her face as she ran.

They'd been beating around the bush for long enough, Kakashi decided.

"I don't want to be on this mission any more than you Sakura, and I understand what Ame means to you, but it means just as much to me so it'd be nice if you stopped being so selfish so we can go and get out as fast as possible," so much for not making her angry, but he wasn't about to tolerate a month of Sakura's bad attitude.

"Shut the hell up Kakashi. We'll get to Rain, go through security, and find a cheap hotel to stay. We can start investigating the next day without being to suspicious about it, and follow whatever orders they have for us in terms of the alliance. We'll gather all the information we're able to and hope we find something vital. That's it." She sped up after that, saying she would scout ahead and he could take the rear. The jounin let out a silent sigh at the kunoichi's rash behavior, but said nothing to address her rudeness. Hearing Sakura speak to him in that way made him remember her younger days with her short fuse.

But some things never changed.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Three days later, the two-man team made it to Amegakure. Kakashi wondered why Tsunade had given them a week to arrive, but perhaps she had thought they would be traveling at a more leisurely pace, instead of the breakneck speed they did travel at. They'd been lucky enough not to run into any enemy shinobi or rouge-nin, but it didn't make their journey any easier. By that point, both of them had been hopelessly exhausted, but the only lodging was, of course, located inside the village, which required them to go through the cutthroat security Rain had enforced. They had grudgingly gone through the boring process of being questioned, searched, questioned some more, and then speaking with the higher-ups of the village. The letter from the Hogake had mostly done the trick-those working had recognized the seal that couldn't be copied-and they were allowed to take up residence in the mansion where Ame's leader was supposedly living.

_Unfortunately_, they were told they would be sharing a room, but what a spacious room it was. Within the large room, there were three separate rooms; two bedrooms and one kitchen and living area. It had been decorated exquisitely, the cool colors fitting to the village's rainy atmosphere. It had been raining since they got there, and hadn't stop even into the night as the pair sat at the small table in the kitchen. They were wearing the casual clothes one the assistants had been kind enough to leave for them as their ANBU uniforms were washed, and they had both already had the chance to shower. To Kakashi, it had been the most wonderful feeling to wash the dirt out of his hair and shave the rapidly-forming stubble on his face. He was sure Sakura felt the same, minus the facial shaving of course, though the happiness from the shower had evaporated and they sat in a heavy silence together.

"Who do you think the leader is?" Kakashi asked, interlacing his fingers and resting his chin upon them. He'd been wondering about Ame's ruler the past few hours, and had what he thought was an accurate idea, but was curious to know what his current partner's opinion on said person was.

"Well, it came out a few years ago about Hanzo's leadership and how he was killed by a mysterious third party, who then took over rule of Amegakure. There's been no other information about the ruler since that, no doubt because of the security measures the village takes. The assumption could be made that the ruler is still this person who was able to kill Hanzo, but of course there's no real evidence of this. All we know apart from that is that the citizens see their leader as a hero for overthrowing Hanzo, even if they apparently don't know who he, or she, is. They're just blindly following this shinobi they call a leader."

Kakashi tried to hide his surprise, and satisfaction, at the knowledge Sakura had without him having to tell her it all. He knew it was because Tsunade was her mentor, so she would _obviously _inform her apprentice about such matters. She probably knew such matters far before the mission, and he was glad that he wouldn't have to try and explain the complicated history of Amegakure to her when she already knew it.

"Akatsuki were reported to have had a base camp there years ago, and if they really are there again, my guess is that the leader of Ame either has close personal ties to the organization, or is the leader of Akatsuki him or herself," Sakura continued in a bored tone of voice, twirling a perfect bubblegum lock between her fingers lazily, "However, I have another theory. It's also possible that Iwa or one of the other villages is housing Akatsuki, and the Tsuchikage has hired us just to redirect our attention and efforts to a meaningless subject."

"That's the exact thought I had. The hole in that theory is what Iwa would even gain from such a relationship," Kakashi replied, happy to know his former student was thinking on the same level as him.

"I'm not sure there are even many benefits for that, not even economically."

"Well," he paused, trying to consider each facet of the situation in depth to form a logical response, "The last time we had information on Akatsuki's intentions, they were collecting to jinchuriki, but for reasons unknown. Iwa could be forming a fake alliance with Akatsuki to gain more information on the group and their motives, like a double agent. Maybe they're trying to capture the last two demons for themselves; that way Akatsuki's plans would be foiled and their village would have the upper hand in all affairs concerning the other nations."

"Even if that was true, Akatsuki has the other seven. Regardless of Iwa having the two most powerful, I doubt they would be able to beat both Akatsuki and the seven other tailed-beasts. I'm not sure that would do any good. It would only momentarily put a halt in Akatsuki's plans, they'd get the last jinchuriki one way or another," Sakura pointed out, once again proving her analytical and reasoning skills were nearly on par with Nara Shikamaru's.

Kakashi let out a lengthy sigh and sat back in his chair, his dark eye fixing on the table in front of him, "A situation like this where we don't have all of the knowledge is far too delicate to try and make accurate speculations. I think at this point we should be extremely wary about who we trust and speak to, and just continue on with the Hogake's orders. Besides, I don't think she would have sent us on this mission if she didn't trust the Tsuchikage."

Sakura nodded as her index finger lazily drew patterns on the tabletop, "You're right. We'll just gave to be extra careful about this whole ordeal. Tomorrow we'll get up early and begin our inspection of the village. I think it would be wise to stick together for most of it; that _is_ what ambassadors do afterall."

"Sakura," she looked up at his words and raised a perfectly plucked pink eyebrow, "I know that your feelings towards me aren't exactly.. Positive. But we need to at least fake that we have a strong bond, because how we act reflects on Konoha. I'm just asking for your cooperation is this so we can figure things out and leave as soon as possible."

His partner exhaled slowly, raised her emerald orbs to the ceiling, and bit her lip as she thought carefully about her next words to the Copy Ninja, "Kakashi I don't hate you, or even hold any disrespect towards you. You were once my sensei, you're someone I look up to, and I know you want what is in my best interests. I'm merely acting as my profession expects me to, I'm not the same naive girl I was seven years ago. I've learned a lot about what being a kunoichi means, and I apologize if it's come off as rude to you. I'll try to be more aware of my actions throughout this mission."

_There it was again_. The carefully formulated statement that betrayed none of Sakura's true feelings; it was simply meant to appease him. He frowned and was glad his navy mask covered the expression. It wasn't necessarily a lie, but it was certainly far from what he had been asking, and she knew it.

It was at that point that Kakashi made it his personal mission throughout the month to finally get inside Sakura's head so he could understand how she felt.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Blah.

This chapter took much more effort than I liked, but I hope you love it.

Apologies for the random x's, it was the only thing that was working.


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